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Monster Media 1996 #14
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Monster Media No. 14 (April 1996) (Monster Media, Inc.).ISO
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prog_gen
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shvend16.zip
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SHVEND.DOC
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The Shareware Vendor v1.6
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(c) Copyright 1994-96 Relative Software Innovations. All Rights Reserved.
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Relative Software Innovations
1515 N. Town East Blvd., Suite #138
Mesquite, Texas 75150
Phone/Fax: (214) 681-8131
E-Mail: 73611.127@compuserve.com
WWW Home Page: http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/RelativeSoftware
See SUPPORT.DOC for a complete list of addresses & phone numbers.
The Shareware Vendor v1.6 1 of 7
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
WARRANTY
Relative Software Innovations specifically disclaims all warranties,
expressed or implied, including but not limited to implied warranties
of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose.
Your sole and exclusive remedy in the event of a defective diskette
is expressly limited to replacement of the diskette. If the diskette
should fail, return it to RSI with a brief statement describing the
defect.
Relative Software Innovations shall not be liable for indirect,
special, incidental or consequential damages resulting from the use
of this product.
THE SHAREWARE CONCEPT
The Shareware Vendor is distributed as shareware. Shareware is com-
mercial software distributed in an unconventional manner. Microcomputers
copy information very easily. Instead of trying to frustrate this through
copy protection, shareware takes advantage of it to reach as many users
as possible at the lowest cost. Anyone may copy a shareware program and
distribute it to whomever they desire, provided they do not charge a
fee for the program or alter it.
Shareware isn't free. Serious shareware is as polished as any
conventional commercial product, and represents just as much program-
ming effort. If you use it regularly, the authors expect compensation.
However, unlike conventional distribution, shareware allows you to
evaluate the product before you decide to purchase it. The price is
often lower, as well, because there are no advertising, packaging, or
distribution costs.
It can only work with your support. If you are still using a share-
ware product after a couple of weeks, then it is obviously worth some-
thing to you, and you should register it.
ABOUT THE SHAREWARE VENDOR
The Shareware Vendor is a small, fast, and easy to use installation
program for disk vendors to distribute with their shareware disks.
It allows end users to install up to 25 programs from single or
multiple archive files and disks. It will unzip archive files to a
user specified path using PKUNZIP.EXE or self-extracting EXE files.
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
(c) Copyright 1994-96 Relative Software Innovations
The Shareware Vendor v1.6 2 of 7
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
INTRODUCTION
Thank you for evaluating The Shareware Vendor! It is quite simple to
use and is easily customizable. The main files you should have are:
SHVEND.EXE - The file you copy to the first disk to install the
shareware programs to your buyers disk media. You
may rename this file anything you wish (INSTALL.EXE,
GO.EXE, RUN.EXE, etc.).
INSTALL.INF - The script file that SHVEND.EXE reads. DO NOT RENAME
THIS FILE. The EXE file looks for this file and will
not run if it cannot find it.
The Shareware Vendor will extract ZIP archive files with PKUNZIP.EXE
or self-extracting EXE files. You need to you make sure that you have
a license to distribute self-extracting EXE files for the utility
you are using. PKWare requires you have a license to distribute self-
extracting EXE files since it includes an unzipping program in the EXE
header. PKWare also requires a license to distribute PKUNZIP.EXE
SET-UP
To create a disk set for distribution, first determine what programs
you will be distributing. Next, copy the SHVEND.EXE and INSTALL.INF to
Disk #1. You can rename SHVEND.EXE if you like (GO.EXE, RUN.EXE, etc.)
as long as you don't rename INSTALL.INF.
Next, copy the program files to the disks. You can copy the files to
make the best use of the disk space on each disk. Then, list the disk
numbers and file names in the INSTALL.INF file on Disk #1 along with
the program name and total bytes needed for installation.
Then copy PKUNZIP.EXE to each disk in the set that contains zip
files.
You can include up to 25 programs in each disk set and each program
can include up to 5 archive files.
INSTALL.INF
The data in the INSTALL.INF file is read by the SHVEND.EXE file while
the program is loading. You can set the foreground and background colors
and a fill character value for the background screen. You can also set
foreground, background, text, and title colors for the text windows.
Set the BACKGROUND switch to OFF to show the installing of the archives
on the display screen.
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
(c) Copyright 1994-96 Relative Software Innovations
The Shareware Vendor v1.6 3 of 7
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
NOTE: During testing it is best to run with Background = Off so you can
see the files being installed and make sure everything is being installed
correctly.
SCREEN AND WINDOW COMMANDS
The color values for the screen and windows have been changed in v1.6
to numbers to reduce the size of the program and increase the speed at
start up. See FOREGROUND AND BACKGROUND COLOR CHART on page 6. The fill
characters are listed in the FILLCHAR.EXE file.
New to version 1.5 are the Border, TextColor, and TitleColor commands.
TextColor sets the color for the window text and TitleColor sets the color
for the category titles (i.e. Disk Space, Destination Path, etc.). The
Border command options are listed below.
The syntax for these commands are:
BackGround = Off
[SCREEN]
Foreground = 8
Background = 7
FillCharacter = 176
[END]
[WINDOW]
Foreground = 7
Background = 1
Border = 0
TextColor = 14
TitleColor = 15
[END]
The spaces before and after the equal sign on each command are optional
and can be entered either:
BackGround = On
or
BackGround=On
The words listed in brackets ([]) must be entered exactly as shown so
the SHVEND.EXE file reads in the variables correctly.
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
(c) Copyright 1994-96 Relative Software Innovations
The Shareware Vendor v1.6 4 of 7
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WELCOME, NOTICE, AND INSTRUCTIONS WINDOWS
The Welcome, Notice, and Instructions sections are for listing text to
be displayed in those windows. Up to 15 lines (70 columns each) can be
entered in the welcome window that will be displayed when the program
loads. Blank lines can be inserted anywhere in the text but only the
first 15 lines will be read. The notice window displays 2 lines of a
copyright notice or any other text you wish to display.
NOTE: In the unregistered version, the copyright notice for Relative
Software will always be displayed and what is entered in the notice
section of the INSTALL.INF will display in the registered version.
The syntax for the welcome and notice sections are:
[WELCOME]
The Shareware Vendor is a small, fast, & easy to use installation
program for disk vendors to distribute with their shareware disks.
It allows end users to install up to 25 programs from single or
multiple archive files and disks. It will unzip archive files to
a user specified path using UNZIP.EXE, PKUNZIP.EXE, or from self-
extracting EXE files.
Customize the text of these display screens, set colors for the
screen and windows, add the program information, and The Shareware
Vendor does the rest.
[END]
[NOTICE]
Copyright (c) 1994 Relative Software Innovations.
All Rights Reserved.
[END]
Up to 6 lines of text can be entered for the instructions section of
text. This will be displayed at the top of the screen above the menu of
programs the user can select for installation.
The syntax for the instructions section is:
[INSTRUCTIONS]
Use the arrow keys to select the program to install then press
<Enter>. Then select the drive and path to install the program to.
[END]
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
(c) Copyright 1994-96 Relative Software Innovations
The Shareware Vendor v1.6 5 of 7
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
PROGRAMS
The next section lists the programs you are including in this disk
set and the files associated with them.
Besides a program name and description (one line up to 68 characters),
you need to know the total bytes needed for the unarchived files on the
destination disk (this will be check before installing to make sure there
is enough room to install the program on the selected drive), the disk
number (1 to 99) and file name of each archive file included for this
program, and the destination drive and path to install to.
Each of the variables included on one line must be separated by an
asterisk (*). Each program entry should look like this:
Program Name - Brief Description * BytesNeeded
Disk# * FILE1.ZIP [/opt] * D# * FILE2.EXE [/opt] * D# * FILE3.ZIP [/opt]
Drive:\Destination Path
You can include up to 5 archive files for each program. They must all
be listed on one line as shown above.
The optional /opt command is for command line switches you want the
extracting program to read.
After a program is selected for installation, the user can change the
default destination path if desired. The Shareware Vendor will check for
each file in the list in order and if it is not on the current disk, it
will prompt for the disk number needed to install that file until the
entire program is installed. Once the program is installed, The Share-
ware Vendor will exit to the drive & directory of the installed program.
The syntax for the programs section is:
[PROGRAMS]
PC Publisher Electronic Publishing System v2.1 * 510000
1 * pcpub21a.zip * 2 * pcpub21b.zip
c:\pcpub
HomeWorks Personal Possessions v1.05 - Audio, Video, & Home Inv. * 255000
1 * hwpp105.zip
c:\hwpp1
RSI Casino - Black Jack and Draw Poker for Windows * 1100000
4 * casino1.zip * 5 * casino2.zip
c:\casino
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
(c) Copyright 1994-96 Relative Software Innovations
The Shareware Vendor v1.6 6 of 7
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
The Shareware Vendor v1.6 - Installation Program for Vendors * 50000
2 * shvend.zip
c:\shvend
The Shareware Installer v1.2 - Installation Program for Authors * 42000
2 * shinst.zip
c:\shinst
The Shareware Evaluator v1.0 - Makes Evaluating Shareware Easy * 175000
3 * sheval1.zip * 3 * sheval2.zip
c:\sheval
[END]
The blank line between each program entry and the spaces between the
asterisks and the data is shown for clarity only and is optional.
NOTE: All of the programs listed in the programs section are Copyright
Relative Software Innovations.
COLOR CHART
Below is a list that show the valid names for the foreground
and background colors.
Foreground Colors: Background Colors:
# Color # Color
-----------------------------------------------------------
0 Black 0 Black
1 Blue 1 Blue
2 Green 2 Green
3 Cyan 3 Cyan
4 Red 4 Red
5 Magenta 5 Magenta
6 Brown 6 Brown
7 White 7 White
8 Gray
9 Bright Blue
10 Bright Green
11 Bright Cyan
12 Bright Red
13 Bright Magenta
14 Yellow
15 Bright White
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
(c) Copyright 1994-96 Relative Software Innovations
The Shareware Vendor v1.6 7 of 7
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
THANKS
Thanks go to Shawn Berg of Bee Software Publishing, Inc. in Hammond,
Indiana for his suggestion and help in testing the added feature to
pass command line switches to the extracting programs.
COMMENTS, SUGGESTIONS, ETC.
If you have any comments or suggestions, please feel free to write or
call us. Also, if you have any problems with The Shareware Vendor, let
us know so we may be able to correct any problems for future updates.
Thank You.
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
(c) Copyright 1994-96 Relative Software Innovations